With growth comes opportunity, and the field service management market has become just as competitive, as field service management software looks to provide organizations with the best business software possible. While the service industry is looking towards the future, the field service management market is trying to improve the future. New functionality is being added every day to make field service organizations more competitive and profitable.
Let’s look at the field service management marketing trends to watch for in the months to come.
Automation
Automation isn’t new. But it’s still a growing trend in the field service space because automation will drive the industry forward. And for some in the industry, they are still using paper, phone calls and spreadsheets to schedule, dispatch and submit work orders. With today’s field service management marketing trends favoring automation, paper-based work orders are being a thing of the past. It’s now about having those work orders generated for you, filled out more quickly, submitted and turned into invoices faster. It’s about speed, and automation is the speed that will help organizations generate more profits.
Automation is so critical because it happens at every point along the service chain. From customers requesting service to their work orders generating themselves, through to the billing process. There isn’t a spot where automation won’t help move the business forward faster. And not only will it continue to cut down on paper, but it will eliminate human error in processing, which could be costly to the business.
More Mobility
Mobile phone users are expected to exceed five billion by the end of the year, so the world is only getting more mobile. So too is that true for the field service management industry. Mobility is the key to removing paper-based work orders, and more organizations are investing in a field service mobile app than any other piece of technology. But it’s not just about submitting work orders faster or filling out advance checklists. Moving forward, the field service management market trend to follow is access to information.
Field service mobile apps are a technician’s link to the back office. From their mobile device, they can access service history to help them finalize repairs or get deeper knowledge of a piece of equipment’s history. They can collaborate with other technicians, leaving notes for each other, including working with subcontractors. No longer are they running back to the office to see what work has been done. They are accessing it all on their mobile device and using that information in the field. It’s making technicians more engaged in the repair, while speeding up their repair times.
Predictive Service and Internet of Things
At one point, being about to prevent downtime in equipment was considered a modern trend. But today, it’s all about predicting when it will happen, and field service management software is helping to push that forward. Predictive maintenance allows field service software to monitor equipment and predict when it should be serviced. This allows for better utilization in the field, less downtime, and fewer repairs. It’s allowing technicians to stop problems before they happen.
Internet of Things (IoT) sensor technology is one of the leading ways that is happening. Sensors are attached to equipment and monitor its performance. If the sensors detect a variation in standard levels, an alert is sent to the field service management software and a work order created to correct the problem. This way, constant checks don’t need to be performed, as there is always something watch for issues that may come up. IoT is always watching and helps reduce any downtimes and keeps equipment running at peak efficiency.
Getting Ready for the Baby Boomer’s Retirement
Each year, the baby boomer generation grows older, and draws closer to their retirement. While most of them are still active in the field, the time is coming when they put down their wrenches for good. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough of today’s workforce to replace them, as millennials aren’t looking to the trades like their fathers. One field service management market trend to watch is that 70 percent of field service organizations see a loss of talent and knowledge as one of their biggest challenges in the years to come. As baby boomers retire, they take with them years of experience. You can’t just replace them with a field service software, but you can retain as much as possible.
With field service software, organizations can preserve the information of older technicians for the next generation. All their notes, solutions and how-to when it comes to repairs are within the work order management system. They can be accessed from the field using the field service mobile app, giving technicians the experience of the older generation in their hand. All their experiences and history with equipment is locked inside the field service management software to be preserved for years to come.
Get Ahead of the Field Service Management Market Trends
As the field service industry continues to grow, there will be more opportunities to grow with it. But you will need a field service management software that will help you live up and surpass the trends that are happening in the industry today. It’s not enough anymore to just adopt some of the solutions that field service software provides, as innovations are being made every day and the customer is always demanding more. Get in front of the trends, and better your service delivery today with the best field service management software on the market. It’s not just an investment in a better service organization, it’s an investment in your technicians, your bottom line and your customers, all of which will improve with a next generation field service management software.